The present invention is related to an image forming device, and more particularly to an image forming device that can be inserted into the predetermined storage bay of the enclosure of electronic equipment.
In the enclosure of electronic equipment, such as computers for example, one or a plurality of storage bays (storage spaces) for storing external devices such as CD-ROM drives, hard disk drives, etc., is provided, and the external devices can be accommodated therein according to need. Further, external devices such as CD-ROM drives and hard disk drives, etc., stored in the storage bays, can be used, once the signal and power cables connected to the computer are respectively connected to a pair of parallel ports provided at the rear end of the external devices via connectors, after having removed the rear panel fixed to the rear of the storage bays by machine screws or some other means.
On the other hand, various image forming devices, connected to electronic equipment via cables and connectors, for printing on a recording medium based on image data output from the electronic equipment have been put into practical use. Further, it is also possible to constitute the before-mentioned image forming device so that it can be used and inserted into the storage bay of the electronic equipment in the same way as the above-mentioned external devices such as CD-ROM drives and hard disk drives.
Then, an image forming device, made so as to fit into the before-mentioned storage bays, can be used, when inserted into the storage bay in the same way as the before-mentioned external devices such as CD-ROM drives and hard disk drives, once the signal and power cables connected to the computer are respectively connected to a pair of parallel ports provided at the rear end of the image forming device via connectors, after having removed the before-mentioned rear panel of the storage bay.
Further, in order to insert an image forming device into the storage bay, a constitution for both feeding and discharging the recording media at the front of the image forming device needs to be adopted, which means that a sheet feeder tray for accommodating a plurality of recording media has to be mounted to the front of the image forming device.
With conventional image forming devices, the cover of the image forming device is opened to perform maintenance operations or clear paper jams. For the before-mentioned image forming device, used while inserted into a storage bay, this means that frequent removal from and insertion into the storage bay is necessary for maintenance operations or clearance of paper jams.
However, the before-mentioned storage bays are not made so as to permit smooth insertion and removal of external devices, because external devices such as CD-ROM drives and hard disk drives, once inserted into the storage bay, are hardly ever removed. I.e. , image forming devices cannot be smoothly inserted into or removed from storage bays for maintenance operations or clearance of paper jams.
Further, when frequently inserting an image forming device into and removing it from a storage bay, as described above, the above-mentioned connectors and parallel ports have to be connected and disconnected each time, therefore, the insertion of the image forming device into and its removal from the storage bay becomes extremely troublesome.
Moreover, with an image forming device inserted into a storage bay, regarding the feeding of the recording media and the discharging of the printed recording media at the front of the image forming device, as described above, the sheet feeder tray being mounted to the front of the main case protrudes far beyond the front of the storage bay and is likely to get very much in the way. And since a constitution for transporting the recording media in a U-turn or forward and backward needs to be adopted, the problem arises that the structure of the sheet transport mechanism, and other systems, becomes complicated, and the manufacturing costs increase significantly.